The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-04-22
The Railroad Commission War.


The general passenger agents Of tire
Eastern trunk lines and Commissioner
Pierson have returned from Chicago. but
without having settled the differences
now existing between the Eastern and
Western lines on the question of the paw
ment of commissions for the sale of pas
senger tickets. In fact it il said the sui
ject was not brought up at the joint con-
ference which was held with the Central
Traffic Association. The only matters
acted upon We're those pertaining To sec
ond-class fares. enIigrant and excursion
rates. No new steps were taken and the
conference merely resulted in official
action being taken in the direction out
lined at the last Joint conference in this
city, which has already been published.
In regard to- the relations between the
Atchison. Topeka and Santa Ee road and
the Eastern trunk lines no action has
been taken. The Atchison people We're
in harmony, they said, with the theory
of the abolition of the payment of com
missions to agents, but have never
signed the circular agreement sent out
by the Eastern trunk lines. 1t is now
| charged that they are still paying com
missions and that their tickets should he
ordered for sale. thereby placing them
| in the position of the other Western lines
which have declined to come in. A gen
porter that it did not make much differ
| ence whether the trunk lines turned these
| tickets to the wall or not, inasmuch as
| they could not sell tickets over the Atch-
| ison line for the reason that they We're not
| handling any tickets of the lines forming
| the connecting link between the Western
| terminal points of the Eastern trunk
| lines and Kansas City, the Eastern term
! inal points of the Atchison. and there
II -
road. On behalf of the AtchisOn people
it is said that it would not do them ANY
| good at present to cooperate with the
/ Eastern trunk lines as, under existing
/ circumstances, the latter could not de
| liver any passengers to them, but that
| when they can do So they may be- pre-
| pared to enter into an arrangement. The
| Atchison is the only transcontinental
| line that has not entered into the arrange
ment to abolish commissions and is the
| only one with which the trunk lines can
| not make any connection.
The agents of the Western roads talk
| in very war-hke strain. The home of
fees of most of them have issued circu-
lars which have been distributed broad
cast over the country IN which the action
of the Eastern trunk lines is character
lied as being arbitrary and in violation
| of the law, and in which the Western
|
they are in favor of the payment of com
missions. Thus far the threat of opeh
ing independent ticket offices iii thin
city has not been carried out and tn,
Eastern men say they do not think it vii
be, but it would he a very expensive un
dertaking without commensurate re-
turns and that the officials will thinl
twice before attempting it.
The two conflicting interests in TIN
st. Louis and San Francisco Road wer,
represented before Judge DOnohue YES
terday, when the order to show caus'
: why the stock transfer books should no
be opened for inspection was returnable
The order was obtained on Saturday b.
Mr.. Walter Del Mar, of +. L. Open
helm & Co., who had twice been refuse,
access to these books. The argument wa
set down for tomorrow morning.
Railroad matters between this city an'
the Connecticut border are about to b.
still further complicated, new lin
called the New York City and Westches
ter Railroad Company having been in
corporated yesterday at Albany. whicl
} proposes to construct a road from Rye &
the Harlem River.